If wiki is to be believed, then Sonobuoys are ~3ft long and ~5in in diameter. Here is a picture of some being loaded on a P3...
...now either the man is a giant, or they ain't "the size of transit van"!
Now here is an early Predator B with a Virginia Air National Guard (VANG) pod...
...Again, unless the chap is a midget (or Elf to be seasonal), then it is about 3ft in depth and could probably fit around 20-30 sonobuoys in it vertically stacked. That's 40-60 total for a single aircraft. Let's put a pair up and that gives 80-120 sonobuoys to go hunting with. Endurance 14-16hrs, 180-200kts TAS and the ability to "change out" crews into the control cabin. Operate at ~3-4k/hr at full cost and also able to deliver a multi-mode RADAR, EO/IR, other intel packages and
weapons either with small yield Hellfire or Brimstone or another MQ-9 with a big weapon.
How often did the 'Rod deploy a weapon during it's life in anger? Should we leave submarine weapons to SSSNs and surface ships? Would our new flat tops be able to deliver a better weapon from F-35 or a helo as a
coup de grace?
Finally, the US have been using MQ-9 in the counter piracy role for several years from the Seychelles. Here is picture of one with a high powered maritime RADAR under the right wing...
It might be the only thing we can afford by re-using the REAPER UOR when it's not needed in Afghanistan. How on earth can that not make sense? Surely worth looking at rather than being a 'nay sayer' and having nothing?
LJ